Buddhism is Incredible

Photo I took of the Sensō-ji temple

I am in love with the Japanese temples. I may not be buddhist but I still love learning about different religions and how they effect a culture. While I was in Japan I was lucky enough to be able to see the Sensō-ji temple. This temple is the oldest in Tokyo. Known to people all over Japan as the temple of the Asakusa Kannon, it draws some 30 million visitors every year. This particular temple is a place where people go to be relived of suffering, and to pray of kindness. The smoke you see in my gif is coming from a giant pot in the center of the path. It is full of coal slowly burning. When we walked by we watched as people put their hand in the smoke and fanned it up and over to the back of their head. A bit confused I asked our friend (a local who was showing us around) what they were doing. She said that the smoke cleanses you of evil spirits and brings you good fortune for the rest of your life. After being told this we all waved the smoke over our heads. 


Over here we have the Kaminarimon, the giant red lantern (chōchin). It was first built in 941 by Taira no Kinmasa, a military commander. Since then it has been burned down, and destroyed many times. Yet it has been reconstructed over and over again. On the front of the gate, the statues of the Shinto gods Fūjin and Raijin are displayed. Fūjin, the god of wind, is located on the east side of the gate, and Raijin the god of thunder is located on the west side. In the picture it's hard to tell but the lantern is huge. When you walk underneath it there's a carving of a dragon on the bottom of the lantern. Going back to the origin of the Sensoiji Temple, legend says that when two brothers caught the statue of the Buddha in their net, a dragon with shining gold scales appeared. Therefore, this dragon carving in the lamp represents the dragon as another god watching over the temple. Also, the town Asakusa had weak wood houses and buildings that would easily catch on fire. So the dragon would help protect the town from fire destruction.